Oxford United boss calls for players to prove team spirit

9:10am Thursday 7th March 2013 in Sport Photograph of the Author By David Pritchard, Chief Sports Reporter covering Oxford United. Follow us on twitter: @oxfordmailoufc. Call me on 01865 425458

OXFORD United’s players must back up talk of a strong team spirit by showing their true colours at Torquay this Saturday, according to manager Chris Wilder.

The U’s were stunned by a 4-0 home defeat to Rotherham on Tuesday, all the goals coming in a 14-minute spell before half-time.

It halted the momentum gained by victories against the division’s top two – Gillingham and Port Vale – in the previous week.

Skipper Jake Wright praised the belief in the squad after the win at Priestfield, but Wilder thinks the real test comes after the kind of heavy defeat they suffered at the hands of the Millers.

He said: “Players talk about a good team spirit when you win against Port Vale and Gillingham.

“Now is the time for team spirit, now they have got to show what they’re about.

“I think they did, to be fair, in the second half on Tuesday, even though it was a dead rubber – they stuck at it.”

The U’s return to action this weekend, with a visit to a Torquay side who are bottom of the form table after one win from their last 15 games.

Midfielder Andy Whing knows the players have to regroup quickly.

He said: “We’ve got to forget the four goals and look at it as three points gone.

“It’s another big game against a struggling team on Saturday, so we have to put it behind us.

“We’ve had three tough games in a week, there are winnable games ahead of us and hopefully we can go again.”

Comments (12)

9:56am Thu 7 Mar 13

BigAlBiker says...

Wilder clear off. you have no motivation for the players either during training or the match which is shown by the time you spend in the dugout with your hands in your pockets.

Other managers encourage and motivate players during the match.

Taxi for Wilder
Wilder clear off. you have no motivation for the players either during training or the match which is shown by the time you spend in the dugout with your hands in your pockets. Other managers encourage and motivate players during the match. Taxi for Wilder BigAlBiker

10:02am Thu 7 Mar 13

CRSDC says...

WILDER OUT!
WILDER OUT! CRSDC

11:22am Thu 7 Mar 13

Wiltsred62 says...

Wilder for life. Doing a great job at the pox with no money. He can't get any players in as club can't afford wages Cox from swindon went on to Plymouth as you lot could only pay 1/3 of his wages either the club finds some money from somewhere or it will be rugby on Saturdays soon not football and that would be a shame for all concerned now get behind your team instead of moaning there are clubs in league 2 in a lot worse position than you lot
Wilder for life. Doing a great job at the pox with no money. He can't get any players in as club can't afford wages Cox from swindon went on to Plymouth as you lot could only pay 1/3 of his wages either the club finds some money from somewhere or it will be rugby on Saturdays soon not football and that would be a shame for all concerned now get behind your team instead of moaning there are clubs in league 2 in a lot worse position than you lot Wiltsred62

11:49am Thu 7 Mar 13

BigOx22 says...

Wiltsred62 wrote:
Wilder for life. Doing a great job at the pox with no money. He can't get any players in as club can't afford wages Cox from swindon went on to Plymouth as you lot could only pay 1/3 of his wages either the club finds some money from somewhere or it will be rugby on Saturdays soon not football and that would be a shame for all concerned now get behind your team instead of moaning there are clubs in league 2 in a lot worse position than you lot
Haha we might not have any money to pay cox's wages because you pay over the odds for over rated players and even di canio saw sense to leave that dump. We do get behind the team. Just not the manager coz he is clueless!
[quote][p][bold]Wiltsred62[/bold] wrote: Wilder for life. Doing a great job at the pox with no money. He can't get any players in as club can't afford wages Cox from swindon went on to Plymouth as you lot could only pay 1/3 of his wages either the club finds some money from somewhere or it will be rugby on Saturdays soon not football and that would be a shame for all concerned now get behind your team instead of moaning there are clubs in league 2 in a lot worse position than you lot[/p][/quote]Haha we might not have any money to pay cox's wages because you pay over the odds for over rated players and even di canio saw sense to leave that dump. We do get behind the team. Just not the manager coz he is clueless! BigOx22

12:10pm Thu 7 Mar 13

Manor Born says...

I really don't care what Chris Wilder has to say. It is always the same old clichéd drivel.

He is a lame duck manager which makes me worry for next season.

The new manager should be given chance to assess the squad and see which players he wants to keep - probably not that many given how clueless, gutless and injured most of them are. But we should be planning for next season now, identifying signings now or we will end up with just 4 players turning up for the first day of pre-season training.

The cost of sacking Wilder now is nothing compared to the cost of the sub-5000 gates that are just around the corner if no action is taken.
I really don't care what Chris Wilder has to say. It is always the same old clichéd drivel. He is a lame duck manager which makes me worry for next season. The new manager should be given chance to assess the squad and see which players he wants to keep - probably not that many given how clueless, gutless and injured most of them are. But we should be planning for next season now, identifying signings now or we will end up with just 4 players turning up for the first day of pre-season training. The cost of sacking Wilder now is nothing compared to the cost of the sub-5000 gates that are just around the corner if no action is taken. Manor Born

12:19pm Thu 7 Mar 13

Open your eyes says...

He seems to be fighting for his job. He rarely comes out with this type of PR talk. God forbid Lenagan decides to retain him.
He seems to be fighting for his job. He rarely comes out with this type of PR talk. God forbid Lenagan decides to retain him. Open your eyes

5:10pm Thu 7 Mar 13

BigAlBiker says...

Anybody got any idea of why the metal advertising signs were so close to the pitch on Tuesday? Seemed dangerous to me.

Oh I know Wilder got that wrong as well like everything else this year, 2103, unlucky for the supporters, Wlder is still here, shame because once he was a good guy.

Taxi for Wlder.
Anybody got any idea of why the metal advertising signs were so close to the pitch on Tuesday? Seemed dangerous to me. Oh I know Wilder got that wrong as well like everything else this year, 2103, unlucky for the supporters, Wlder is still here, shame because once he was a good guy. Taxi for Wlder. BigAlBiker

5:25pm Thu 7 Mar 13

Richard Wickson says...

Open your eyes wrote:
He seems to be fighting for his job. He rarely comes out with this type of PR talk. God forbid Lenagan decides to retain him.
God forbid indeed, I haven't questioned whether or not I should continue the 320 mile round trip for home games until this season BUT the time has now come. The un-dynamic duo Lenaghan and Wilder have given me considerable cause for doubt and no matter what's happened before I have continued to support my home town club and will still do so, but maybe picking my games a bit now. This club really needs new management and new ownership. I never thought I would say it but I never felt things were this bad even under the rogue that still owns the ground and that is part of the problem tho certainly not all of it.
[quote][p][bold]Open your eyes[/bold] wrote: He seems to be fighting for his job. He rarely comes out with this type of PR talk. God forbid Lenagan decides to retain him.[/p][/quote]God forbid indeed, I haven't questioned whether or not I should continue the 320 mile round trip for home games until this season BUT the time has now come. The un-dynamic duo Lenaghan and Wilder have given me considerable cause for doubt and no matter what's happened before I have continued to support my home town club and will still do so, but maybe picking my games a bit now. This club really needs new management and new ownership. I never thought I would say it but I never felt things were this bad even under the rogue that still owns the ground and that is part of the problem tho certainly not all of it. Richard Wickson

5:27pm Thu 7 Mar 13

Richard Wickson says...

BigAlBiker wrote:
Anybody got any idea of why the metal advertising signs were so close to the pitch on Tuesday? Seemed dangerous to me.

Oh I know Wilder got that wrong as well like everything else this year, 2103, unlucky for the supporters, Wlder is still here, shame because once he was a good guy.

Taxi for Wlder.
I understand it was because Rotherham have a long throw specialist in their squad. That was the word on the grapevine amongst the stewards.
[quote][p][bold]BigAlBiker[/bold] wrote: Anybody got any idea of why the metal advertising signs were so close to the pitch on Tuesday? Seemed dangerous to me. Oh I know Wilder got that wrong as well like everything else this year, 2103, unlucky for the supporters, Wlder is still here, shame because once he was a good guy. Taxi for Wlder.[/p][/quote]I understand it was because Rotherham have a long throw specialist in their squad. That was the word on the grapevine amongst the stewards. Richard Wickson

5:29pm Thu 7 Mar 13

karatavuk says...

How can the players show spirit after the way they are being bullied by Wilder.
They have seen what he did to Chapman and are all playing in fear.

Playing with fear never works. We need someone to instill some confidence in the team.
How can the players show spirit after the way they are being bullied by Wilder. They have seen what he did to Chapman and are all playing in fear. Playing with fear never works. We need someone to instill some confidence in the team. karatavuk

6:31pm Thu 7 Mar 13

bigchet says...

im not happy with the way things are going under cw but think we need to see the season out as it would prove expeensive to sack him and employ a new man . his contract is up in may and il can assess it then' there are only 5 home games left so any loss of revenue if we continue to perform badly will be limited to that./ some have suggested we earmark potential players for next year but just who do they think will carry this out. il has also come in for a bit of flack recently but fans should realise that his financial input is keeping the club afloat as the gate revenue is nowhere near enough. we all want the best for our club , so all we can do as fans is to continue with our support no matter who is in charge.
im not happy with the way things are going under cw but think we need to see the season out as it would prove expeensive to sack him and employ a new man . his contract is up in may and il can assess it then' there are only 5 home games left so any loss of revenue if we continue to perform badly will be limited to that./ some have suggested we earmark potential players for next year but just who do they think will carry this out. il has also come in for a bit of flack recently but fans should realise that his financial input is keeping the club afloat as the gate revenue is nowhere near enough. we all want the best for our club , so all we can do as fans is to continue with our support no matter who is in charge. bigchet

8:46pm Thu 7 Mar 13

Manor Born says...

bigchet wrote:
im not happy with the way things are going under cw but think we need to see the season out as it would prove expeensive to sack him and employ a new man . his contract is up in may and il can assess it then' there are only 5 home games left so any loss of revenue if we continue to perform badly will be limited to that./ some have suggested we earmark potential players for next year but just who do they think will carry this out. il has also come in for a bit of flack recently but fans should realise that his financial input is keeping the club afloat as the gate revenue is nowhere near enough. we all want the best for our club , so all we can do as fans is to continue with our support no matter who is in charge.
How much would paying 2 months of Wilder's contract off actually cost? Compared to the lost revenue from sub-5,000 gates between now and the end of the season? People have lost faith, they have given up all hope, the only way they will return is if they are given a reason to return and that would be a new manager, a new dawn and a new beginning. Keeping Wilder at the helm is detrimental to the future of our football club & will only harm our prospects for next season. He needs to go now to give the new manager a chance to assess the squad and sound out potential targets for the close season.
[quote][p][bold]bigchet[/bold] wrote: im not happy with the way things are going under cw but think we need to see the season out as it would prove expeensive to sack him and employ a new man . his contract is up in may and il can assess it then' there are only 5 home games left so any loss of revenue if we continue to perform badly will be limited to that./ some have suggested we earmark potential players for next year but just who do they think will carry this out. il has also come in for a bit of flack recently but fans should realise that his financial input is keeping the club afloat as the gate revenue is nowhere near enough. we all want the best for our club , so all we can do as fans is to continue with our support no matter who is in charge.[/p][/quote]How much would paying 2 months of Wilder's contract off actually cost? Compared to the lost revenue from sub-5,000 gates between now and the end of the season? People have lost faith, they have given up all hope, the only way they will return is if they are given a reason to return and that would be a new manager, a new dawn and a new beginning. Keeping Wilder at the helm is detrimental to the future of our football club & will only harm our prospects for next season. He needs to go now to give the new manager a chance to assess the squad and sound out potential targets for the close season. Manor Born

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